Dog saves boy with Down syndrome trapped in tumble dryer

Went "berserk" after machine started with boy inside
- byAaron Clayton

16 Nov
2016

Aaron Duffy

A family dog has been hailed a hero after saving a young boy stuck in a tumble dryer.

Teddy raised the alarm when the machine started with five-year-old Riley Gedge-Duffy, who has Down syndrome, inside.

Riley's dad Aaron has told how Teddy alerted them to Riley being in danger. 'My wife was upstairs hoovering at the time and the dog ran upstairs and basically went berserk so she knew something was not right.'

Aaron Duffy

The couple went downstairs and couldn't find Riley.

'The dog was barking like mad and running backwards and forwards to the tumble dryer but because it was so dark inside she could not see where Riley was,' says Aaron.

The family could hear banging and crashing from the dryer and pulled Riley out. They poured cold water over him and rang emergency services. Riley was taken to hospital to check the burns and bruising to his head.

His parents think he was inside for a couple of minutes. As his dad says: 'It doesn't bear thinking about what might have happened if the dog had not been there.'